BY KAREN BOSSICK

A new film, “Minidoka: An American Concentration Camp” will be shown Wednesday at the Community Library. And Hanako Wakatsuki, chief of Interpretation at the Minidoka National Historic Site south of Sun Valley, will field questions afterwards.

The free screening will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26.

The 30-minute film, produced by North Shore productions for the National Park Service, tells the story of Japanese-Americans who were incarcerated by the U.S. government during World War II purely on the basis of their race.

These Americans, who lived along the West Coast, were removed from their homes and sent to camps in Idaho, California, Wyoming, Utah and even Arkansas.

The film explores the lasting impact of incarceration on them and the decades of shame and silence they suffered. It also examines the relevance of their story for civil rights today.

The film is being shown as part of the Community Library’s 2020 WINTER READ, which is focusing on the history and effects of the incarceration.

Minidoka War Relocation Center, which sits about 80 miles south of Sun Valley, hosted more than 9,000 Japanese Americans from 1942 to 1945.

Gov. Brad Little cut the ribbon on a new visitor center at the site on Saturday. The space includes a theater where the film is being screened, two new historical exhibits and a bookstore. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays during winter.

The WINTER READ is sponsored by the Spur Community Foundation and Ketchum resident Carlyn Ring.